OBS Spring Continues to Post Gains

OBS SPRING CONTINUES TO POST GAINS
by Jessica Martini & J.M. Severni 

With a pair of juveniles sharing top billing of $700,000, the Ocala Thoroughbred Breeders’ Sales Company’s Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training continued to post increases over last year’s record-setting auction with its third session in Ocala Thursday. 

Through three sessions of the four-day auction, 506 horses have sold for $39,258,900. The average is up 4.3% from a year ago and the median is up 3.2% to $48,500. At this point last year, 588 horses had grossed $43,723,000 for an average of $74,359 and a median of $47,000. 

“It was another solid day–another very good day,” reported OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “There were some really nice horses who sold really well and we still have bullets in the holster for tomorrow.” 

During Thursday’s session, 164 head grossed $15,224,000. The average of $92,829 was up 14.2%. The median dipped 3.8% to $50,000. With 59 horses reported not sold, the session buy-back rate was 26.5%. The cumulative buy-back rate, with post-sale transactions still being added in, is 23%. 

Hip 719, a colt by GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Blame, was first to hit the $700,000 figure mark Thursday, when selling to Mike Repole. Conquest Stables equaled that price tag when purchasing a filly by first-year sire Tizway (hip 856). It was the second highest-figure of the three-day sale, bettered only by Wednesday’s record-setting $1.9-million daughter of Tapit. 

Conquest Stables was the day’s leading buyer, purchasing four lots for $2,055,000. Ocala Stud was leading vendor with 12 sold for $1,097,000. 

Through three days, 10 juveniles have sold for $400,000 or more. At this point a year ago, nine had hit that mark. 

“There was a good solid trade of some upper-end horses,” Wojciechowski observed. “We obviously didn’t have a $1.9 million, but we had some horses bring some solid numbers throughout the day.” 

The final session of the OBS Spring sale gets underway Friday at 10:30 a.m.

Repole Takes the Blame
by Jessica Martini 

Mike Repole made his second purchase of the OBS Spring sale Thursday, going to $700,000 to secure a son of Blame from Tony Bowling’s All in Sales consignment. The colt (hip 719) is out of stakes winner Alexandra Rylee (Afleet Alex). He worked a furlong last week in :10 1/5. 

“He kind of fits the team’s criteria,” Jonathon Thomas, who was sitting alongside Repole’s racing manager Jim Martin during the bidding, explained. “He is a little bit more of an immature colt that galloped out really well with a nice frame and he’s classically bred top and bottom. Blame is acting like he is wanting to be a good stallion. We are banking on him maturing and being a nice horse.” 

Thomas admitted the colt’s final price tag was higher than expected. “There is a very small scattering of quality, it seems at this sale,” he said. 

During Wednesday’s second session of the sale, Repole’s team went to $325,000 for a son of Uncle Mo. 

Just after the group’s purchase Thursday, Repole’s homebred Outwork became Uncle Mo’s first winner with a 2 1/4-length victory at Keeneland. Repole campaigned the juvenile champion, who was also represented Thursday by an Ocala Stud-consigned colt who sold for $320,000 to L.E.B. 

Bowling purchased the Blame colt for $105,000 at last year’s Keeneland September sale. 

“He was a great colt from the day we bought him to the day we sold him,” Bowling commented. “I really couldn’t do anything wrong–I couldn’t mess him up.” 

“He was a big, strong well-balanced colt as a yearling,” Bowling recalled. “He had all the right parts and was a May 16 foal that I thought would do a lot of changing–which he has done and continues to do. Every time he does something, it’s better than the time before. They bought a very, very nice horse.” 

Bowling admitted the colt’s final price tag was a surprise. “The price blew me out of the water,” he said. “I was very, very pleased.”

Session’s Top Fillies Go to Conquest
by J.M. Severni 

Trainer Mark Casse, the underbidder on Wednesday’s $1.9-million record-setting Tapit filly, found some consolation Thursday, walking out of the sales pavilion with the day’s two top-priced fillies in hip 692, a daughter of Lemon Drop Kid, and hip 856, a filly by freshman sire Tizway. He signed the $650,000 (for 692) and the $700,000 (for 856) tickets on behalf of Ernie Semersky and Dory Newell’s Conquest Stables. 

The Lemon Drop Kid filly is the fourth foal out of GISP Yonagucci (Yonaguska). She was consigned by Bobby Dodd and breezed in :9 4/5, the co-fastest work of the sale. Casse called the work “eye-popping.” 

The filly was bred by Machmer Hall, Cherokee Equine and Pomerol Pty. Carrie Brogden of Machmer Hall bought out her breeding partners for $120,000 when the filly was a short yearling at Keeneland January. She RNA’d for $190,000 at Keeneland September and Brad Grady bought into her post-sale, while Brogden retained a half. 

“It’s fun when it goes right,” Brogden said. “We’ve had a lot of luck with Brad. We’re delighted that she’s going to a great home and that she’s staying stateside, not only for breeders’ awards, but for a cheering section, I hope.” 

“I thought she would sell well, I thought she would bring the upside of $350,000 and, if we were lucky, $500,000,” Dodd offered. “She’s a really good horse, but it was a pleasant surprise.”

Casse said the impressive work made him more bullish on the filly. 

“The work was tremendous, but if you look at her she’s very pretty, too,” he articulated. “As for fillies, [we planned] to buy the Tapit and we didn’t succeed on that one, so we got this one.” 

Hip 856 becomes the top-priced progeny of Spendthrift’s first-crop stallion Tizway to sell at auction. She is out of MSP dam Cedar Summer (Souvenir Copy) and is a half-sibling to MSW & GSP Populist Politics (Don’t Get Mad). 

The bay, who RNA’d for $240,000 at the OBS August sale as a yearling, was consigned by King’s Equine. She breezed in :10 flat at the under-tack show. Trainer Simon Callaghan was the underbidder. 

“She’s a beautiful horse,” Raul Reyes of King’s Equine said. “She is just a really nice horse.” 

Reyes echoed the strong sentiment of approval for Tizway’s 2-year-olds saying, “The ones I have are great. They’re nice horses. I don’t know much about the rest of them, but the ones I have are absolutely gorgeous.” 

“I thought she was a beautiful filly,” Casse offered. “Actually, she reminds me of [GI Del Mar Debutante S. third-placed finisher and GI Chandelier S. runner-up] Conquest Eclipse (Malibu Moon). They look almost identical to each other and I thought the filly was really impressive on the track. I didn’t think she would bring that much, though.” 

Casse likes the Tizway progeny that he’s seen so far, and purchased a colt by that sire for $325,000 at the OBS March sale on behalf of John Oxely. 

“I like them,” he commented. “Especially since [Tizway was] more of a stayer and his horses are showing some gas, so that’s always a good sign.” 

Although Casse wished he was able to buy the Tapit filly, he was very pleased with his slightly less expensive purchases. The trainer, who was last year’s OBS Spring top buyer, taking home five horses for a combined $1,765,000, pointed out that his operation has done well with more moderately priced horses, including Oxley colorbearer Danzig Moon (Malibu Moon), who will make his next start in the GI Kentucky Derby, and GIII Illinois Derby runner-up Conquest Curlinate (Curlin). 

“There are so many factors and you never know where the next star is going to come from,” the conditioner said. “We bought some expensive horses in the last couple years, but the horse that’s running in the Derby cost $160,000 [at Keeneland September] and it looks like we’re going to run Conquest Curlinate in the Preakness and he cost $70,000 [at Keeneland September], so you just don’t know.” 

As for missing out on Wednesday’s topper, Casse said he was disappointed, but is at the same time mindful of the added stress that comes with a price tag that opulent. 

“I like to say I pouted a little, but I don’t think so,” he said of being the underbidder on Wednesday’s record-breaking session topper. “You have mixed feelings. You want them, but with buying those types comes with lots of pressure–not that [the owners] put pressure on you, but you put pressure on yourself. When you’ve convinced somebody to pay that type of money for those horses, I take it very personally, so I put a lot of pressure on myself. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve worked a long time to get into the position to buy these kind of horses and a lot of people say, ‘If I had that kind of money, I’d buy it, too.’ But it’s not quite as simple as it seems. Like I said, you put a lot of pressure on yourself because when people put that much faith in you, you want to deliver.” 

Conquest was the session’s top buyer with five horses hammered down for a collective $2.055 million. They also purchased hip 750, a colt by freshman sire Drosselmeyer (Distorted Humor), for $425,000 and a Quality Road filly (hip 693) for $280,000 during the session.

Zayat Stables Restocks at OBS
by Jessica Martini 

Patti Miller of EQB won a protracted bidding duel late in Thursday’s session of the Spring sale to acquire a colt by Giant’s Causeway for $560,000 on behalf of Zayat Stables. 

“We were hoping to get him for less,” Miller laughed after signing the ticket on hip 898. “We were thinking we would probably be in around $350,000 or so. But Mr. Zayat wanted him and I do as I’m told.” 

Consigned by Q Bar J Thoroughbreds, the bay colt is out of Conniption (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) and worked a furlong in :10 1/5. He was bred by Frank Hutchinson. 

“He had very good overall balance,” Miller said of the colt. “He had a great way of moving. Obviously we worry about heart and we do the high-speed film analysis and he jumped through all those hoops and he had pedigree. It is hard to buy a good horse that jumps through all the 2-year-old trials and has pedigree and that is a good physical and that vets. We have a very strict vetting procedure and he vetted for us and we were very happy.” 

Miller said the top of the market has been competitive this week at OBS. 

“I think it’s tough to buy when it’s a good horse,” she explained. “I think it’s a very difficult market if it’s a good horse. And this horse had pedigree and physical and everything. We didn’t think we would steal him for nothing, but we were a little surprised that somebody else would hang that tough.” 

Zayat Stables and, by extension, EQB will be well-represented in the May 2 GI Kentucky Derby. Zayat will send out El Kabeir (Scat Daddy), American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) and Mr. Z (Malibu Moon). 

On behalf of Ahmed Zayat’s operation, EQB purchased El Kabeir for $250,000 at the 2013 OBS August sale and Mr. Z for $135,000 at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October sale. 

“American Pharoah, Mr. Zayat bred, but we were very keen on and didn’t want him to sell him, so he is nice enough to say that we were a bit of a part of that, too,” Miller said. 

EQB, a bloodstock consultant company headed by Jeff Seder, will also be represented by Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s International Star (Fusaichi Pegasus) on the first Saturday of May. The sophomore was purchased on behalf of the Ramseys for $85,000 at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic fall sale.

The sale of hip 898 mared a major pinhooking score for the team of Quincy and Jennifer Adams’s Q Bar J Thoroughbreds, Carrie Brogden and Chip Montgomery of Haymarket Farm. The youngster RNA’d for $22,000 at Keeneland January as a short yearling, and a partnership was quickly formed. Veteran horseman Adams called Thursday’s $560,000 sale one of this highest-priced pinhooks of his career. 

“We had lots of interest in him,” Adams said. “He really performed well on the racetrack and he checked all the boxes. He vetted and looked great on the end of a shank.”

Big Drama Filly Rewards Woods
by Jessica Martini 

A filly from the first crop of sprint champion Big Drama (Montbrook) turned heads with a quarter-mile work in :20 3/5, fastest at last week’s under-tack show, and the juvenile duly delivered in the OBS sale’s ring Thursday, selling for $410,000 to trainer Linda Rice. 

The filly (hip 608) was bred by Eddie Woods’s Quarter Pole Enterprises, which purchased her dam Twilight Mirage (Jeblar) for $15,000 at the 2012 OBS Winter sale. Woods, better known as a juvenile pinhooker and consignor, has five broodmares scattered between Florida, Kentucky and New York. 

“It’s just something we decided to dabble in more than anything and it’s gone ok,” Woods explained. “We ended up with a couple of mares by accident, 2-year-olds that got hurt and that had pedigrees. We’ve sold a couple of others–we sold a horse here last year called My Point Exactly (Concord Point) that won a stakes and ran in the GI Florida Derby. And then two or three years ago, I sold a weanling for $12,500 and it brought $300,000 here in April. But that’s part of it.” 

My Point Exactly, out of My Golden Quest (Coronado’s Quest), sold for $65,000 at last year’s OBS Spring sale. The gray won the Sunday Silence S. at Louisiana Downs last September. 

Twilight Mirage, who was in foal to Leroidesanimaux {Brz}) at the Winter sale, fit everything Woods was looking for three years ago. 

“I bought her off Janie [Roper], who works for me here,” Woods explained. “She is a really good-looking mare and she had a bit of pedigree and she had a horse that was running a bit on the grass. And she was cheap.” 

The stakes-placed mare is also the dam of multiple stakes winner Determinato (Closing Argument). Her Leroidesanimaux colt sold for $42,000 at last year’s Spring sale. 

The Big Drama filly herself RNA’d for $47,000 at last year’s OBS August sale. 

With a straight face, Woods said, “This one RNA’d as a yearling due to me having a bad consignor: Francis Vanlangendonck.” The Irishman then broke into a huge grin and added, “I’ve been busting on him all week.” 

He continued, “She has grown since then. She was a petite thing. She is a bit fine-boned and she’s a bit straight, just a hair straight. But she grew up classy looking. She is still a bit fine-boned, but she went in :20 3/5. And her video is awesome and she galloped out huge and that’s why we do 2-year-old sales. If she goes in :21 flat, we’re not having this conversation.” 

Big Drama, who won the 2010 GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint and was named that year’s champion sprinter, stands for $10,000 at Bridlewood Farm. 

“Big Drama was a good horse and he can get a good horse,” Woods said. “His 2-year-olds have sold well, they sold well in March and there are more that will sell well here, I believe. For him to get a nice horse, it’s no surprise to me.” 

Big Drama had seven juveniles sell at the OBS March sale, highlighted by a filly who brought $270,000. 

The Big Drama filly was Rice’s third purchase of the Spring Sale. Rice, who has had a busy spring at the juvenile sales while stocking a stable for a newly formed syndicate of female investors, also purchased a filly by Tizway (hip 488) for $420,000 during Wednesday’s session of the Spring sale. Later Thursday, she made her fourth purchase when acquiring a colt by Summer Bird (hip 801) for $210,000. Rice went to $950,000 to acquire a colt by Broken Vow at the March sale.

Banner Day for Freshmen at OBS
by Jessica Martini 

Freshmen stallions have acquitted themselves well in the OBS Sales ring this week, with eight of the 14 top-selling juveniles representing their sire’s first crop. With Thursday’s $700,000 co-topping daughter of Tizway leading the way, five horses by freshman sires sold for over $400,000 through Thursday’s session. 

Also breaking the $400,000 mark so far at the spring sale: a colt by Drosselmeyer (hip 750) brought $425,000; a filly by Tizway (hip 488) sold for $420,000; a colt by Adios Charlie (hip 727) went for $420,000; and a filly by Big Drama (hip 608) sold for $410,000. 

“It’s nice to see it has come full swing from when things were down in 2008 and 2009 and there was a flight towards the proven stallions,” said OBS president Tom Ventura. “Now we have some very exciting young sires coming on board and we’ve seen in the last couple of years the trend back to where the unproven stallions, with obviously some appeal, have done much better. It’s good to see. I think the market is a little more balanced. The proven horses certainly get their due, but the unproven stallions are certainly off to a good start here.” 

Ventura thinks the 2-year-old sales give buyers an added advantage when looking at first-year stallions.

“One of the things that certainly is a huge plus, especially for a horse like Tizway who has had a couple of horses sell very well, is that buyers get to see them move on the track,” he explained. “They looked at them as yearlings, they received them at different levels as yearlings and this is the next step to see how they hold up for the first season of training and how they look on the track. So I think that helps them sort through them a little more and pick their horses that way. But the first-crop sires that we have, as nice a group as it is, it is good to see there is well-rounded acceptance of not only proven stallions, but certainly the first-year sires.”

Another Big Score for Adios Charlie
by J.M. Severni 

Ocala Stud freshman sire Adios Charlie (Indian Charlie) entered the OBS Spring sale with a full head of steam off an impressive OBS March sale where four progeny sold for a total of $1.44 million. He tallied another high price Thursday when hip 727 fetched $420,000 from L R K, Inc. 

Adios Charlie stands at Ocala Stud for $3,000. 

Ocala Stud’s J. Michael O’Farrell was pleased with the price and with the success of his young stallion. 

“When Adios Charlie was racing in New York, his first few career races were very good,” O’Farrell explained of his early interest in the stallion. “They had numerous big offers to purchase him. We had a good relationship with Stanley Hough, who trained him, so I followed Adios Charlie. I kept tabs on him and, when he broke down, I made the move. [Adios Charlie] had broken down in late February [of 2012] and we bought him in March. He was sore and didn’t breed until April–we bred half of them–and we’ve had a handful of really nice horses. They look and act the part. He has a high percentage of quality-looking horses for the size of his crop, so we’re excited about it. We hope they run and we believe they will, so we’ll see.” 

Of hip 727, O’Farrell said, “He never missed a beat, he never missed a day of training. He worked in :21 1/5, but he galloped out super, just like the ones in March.” 

Ocala Stud has had a significant amount of success with young stallions the past few years, especially at the OBS April Sale. Multiple stakes winner Mr. Jordan, who is from the first-crop of Kantharos progeny, and GIII Sham S. winner Calculator, who is from the first-crop of In Summation, both were purchased out last year’s edition of the Spring sale. 
O’Farrell attributes the success to standing stallions he truly believes in and a bit of luck, too. 

“We like to breed 10 or 12 of our own mares to them, so I don’t like to stand just any horse,” he said. “I have to believe in them and, fortunately, we’ve had more who have done well than have done poorly. I feel very fortunate to have landed on some horses who have done pretty well and, hopefully, Adios Charlie will follow in some of those footsteps.” 
Ocala Stud was the top consignment for the third session of the OBS Spring sale with 12 horses selling for total of $1,097,000. 

Drosselmeyer Colt in Demand at OBS 
by Jessica Martini 

Drosselmeyer (Distorted Humor) enjoyed a strong result Thursday at OBS when Conquest Stables went to $425,000 to acquire hip 750, a colt from the first crop of the 2010 GI Belmont S. and 2011 GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner. Out of Apple Strudel (More Than Ready), the chestnut worked a furlong in :10 1/5 during last week’s under-tack preview. 

“We loved this horse all year long,” commented consignor Ciaran Dunne, who purchased the youngster for $70,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. “He was as nice a horse as we had on the farm. We were really excited to bring him here. He didn’t preview quite like we had expected, he got a little bit rattled and was climbing a little bit. But I think he’s just a wonderful horse who is just going to get better.” 

Dunne has high hopes for Drosselmeyer, who stands at WinStar Farm for $15,000. 

“[This juvenile] is by a horse that I would give a real chance to be a stallion,” Dunne said. “By a speed horse in Distorted Humor, he still won a Classic and a Breeders’ Cup Classic.” 

Dunne thinks Drosselmeyer can deliver what buyers are looking for. 

“We all want them to go long,” he said. “Drosselmeyer looks like the type of horse that could get you one that can go long, but we don’t want big plodders and they don’t look like plodders. They are typey sorts of horses. So maybe they are the type of horse with speed that can carry.”